Collision Course (A Josh Williams Novel)

by Joe Broadmeadow

  McDaniel stepped off the porch, turning back at the ashen Ventraglia.

  Grinning and raising his hands, McDaniel backed down the walk like a political candidate leaving a rally, "Happy Fucking Father's Day."

  As they got back to the car, Grady was choking on laughter, McDaniel was smiling, and Ventraglia was screaming like a maniac.

  McDaniel turned to Grady "now that's how us real cops practice community policing, with sympathy and compassion at such a tragic time."

  Chapter 11: March 15, 2006 4:15PM

  Ventraglia drove to Gemini Drive, calling JoJo on the cell phone from the rear lot. A short time later JoJo came and got in the car.

  "You ready man?"

  "Shit man, I am a fucking war hero, I’m always ready."

  "Okay, the shotgun is under the seat, the shells are in the bag next to it, load it."

  "Load it, what the fuck it got to be loaded for man, this is a fucking set up ain't it?"

  "Yeah, but we got to act like it's real, we may have to cap a round for show, make it look better, just do it man, you remember how?"

  "Fuckin A man, I could take it apart and put it back together blindfolded."

  "Listen, after we do this, you can take it apart and sing the fucking Marine Corps song for all I care, just load it man."

  "It is a hymn."

  "What, him, what the fuck you talking about?"

  "It's the Marine Corps Hymn, H Y M N, not song, what are you stupid?"

  "Jesus Christ, who gives a fuck?"

  Slumping into the seat, looking out the window, Machado thought I do, or at least I did.

  Divothead drove through the back streets to get onto Pawtucket Avenue, heading north to the intersection of Warren Avenue, known as Moore's Corners.

  Traffic was heavy as usual for this time of the day and he caught the red light. Divothead started to pull through the parking lot of Brook’s Pharmacy to get around the light.

  JoJo, his head down loading the weapon, wasn’t paying attention.

  "Shit!"

  JoJo looked up and saw the cruiser parked in the lot.

  "What the fuck man, they already know, motherfucker ratted us out. I told you not to trust that fucking greenhorn prick."

  "Will you calm the fuck down, that fat motherfucker sits there all day making believe he is doing something, he only gets outta the car to drag his fat ass into Gino's for lunch. He ain't even looking at us."

  Ventraglia pulled into a parking spot where he could watch the officer in the rearview mirror.

  "Get out of the car, go inside, and buy something, act fucking normal."

  "Act fucking normal? I am holding a fucking loaded shotgun and there's a fucking cop twenty-five feet away that would love to put a nigga notch on his belt. You act fucking normal, I am outta here."

  "Listen to me JoJo, if you don't get out of the car and go in the store, that asshole might suddenly think it odd that we pulled in here and then left in the same direction. Just listen to me and go inside, here's ten bucks, buy something."

  JoJo got out of the car, trying not to look at the officer, and went inside the store. He came out a few moments later and threw a paper bag on the seat.

  Divothead pulled out of the lot and headed back onto Pawtucket Ave. Both of them kept glancing back to see if the cruiser moved.

  It did not.

  "See, just be cool man, listen to me I am a master at this. What the fuck did you buy anyway?"

  "I don't know, I just grabbed the first thing I came to, toothpaste, I think."

  "Toothpaste, what the fuck JoJo, look and see."

  JoJo opened the bag and said, "V, A, ah, I don't know what it is man, some fuckin' tube of shit."

  "Let me see that," grabbing the tube from JoJo "what the fuck man you bought Vagicil, fucking crotch rot shit. What the fuck am I gonna' do with that?"

  JoJo laughed. "Yo, brush your teeth with it man, they rotten. No wonder that girl behind the counter looked at me weird," laughing to himself.

  Divothead drove passed the Fire Department Station 1, turning onto Grove Avenue. JoJo kept looking back, checking and watching.

  "Yo, man, stop turning around, you're making me nervous."

  "Just making sure man, I am the lookout ain't I?"

  Divothead drove by the store and tried to look in to see if CK was out front. He couldn't see him, so he called on the cell.

  "Yo."

  "Yo, ready dude?"

  "Yeah, just do it, I'll be in the back at the safe, come back there."

  Divothead hung up "Dude, ready to make some money?"

  JoJo smiled and said, "Fuckin' A man, let’s do it."

  Divothead dialed 911, sealing their fate.

  Chapter 12: March 15, 2006, 4:45PM

  "911 operator what it the nature of your emergency, Medical, Police, or Fire?"

  "Yo, there's a dude shooting man, he shot some fuckers, uh, people."

  "Where are you sir?"

  "Kent Farm, man, hurry."

  "Sir, Kent Farm is where, what city?"

  "Yo, East Providence man, off South Broadway."

  "Hold one sir"

  The 911 operator connected the call to the East Providence Police & Fire Communications Center.

  "East Providence Police and Fire."

  "911 operator 25, I have a male on the line reporting a shooting at Kent Farm off South Broadway, go ahead sir."

  "Yeah, ah, some dude is shooting man, he's on Gemini, black dude, big motherfucker, and he's got a fucking AK or something."

  "Okay, stay on the line with me sir."

  The dispatcher put out the call, "301, 303, 3S1 report of shots fired, Kent Farm, Gemini Drive, Black male armed with a rifle, multiple victims, respond Code 3."

  "Sir, I have cars on the way, can you describe him"

  Divothead smiled at JoJo and winked. He thought the female dispatcher sounded black and he could not resist himself.

  "Yo, Bitch, some fucking nigger is killing white people, get over there and help."

  Divothead hung up.

  "Why the fuck you gotta do that man? Brothers got enough trouble with the fucking cops."

  "Come on man, lighten up, just having fun fucking over them bastards for all the times they fuck with me, let's do this."

  In the distance, they could hear the sirens as the cops converged on Gemini Drive. "That'll keep the bastards busy for a while; they won't even know we were here." Divothead smiled with great satisfaction.

  Pulling behind the store, Divothead punched a number into the cell phone, handing it to JoJo along with a small blue dust mask. "Just push send; I put in my number. If you see any cops, just call me."

  "What the fuck is the mask for man?"

  "In case you have to come inside the store, JoJo. Jeez man you know this shit."

  JoJo took the phone and watched Divothead put on gloves and then the mask. Divothead took the shotgun and they got out of the car. Divothead kept the shotgun along his side away from the street. They walked around to the front of the store; JoJo went to the sidewalk at the edge of the lot, trying to act normal.

  Divothead went inside.

  JoJo could hear the sirens as cruisers headed to Kent Farm. He looked back at the store and saw someone looking out at him from the window near the cash register. That’s strange, he thought, Divothead said CK would be alone. He walked closer to get a better look.

  He could see a young girl looking out. What the fuck is going on? As he started toward the door, he saw the girl duck down.

  A moment later, he heard the first shot.

  JoJo's instincts took over and he ran inside. As he came in, he saw Divothead turning toward an older male. The guy held a handgun, trying to aim at Divothead.

  JoJo saw the shotgun muzzle flash and watched as the guy's head went missing in the pink spray.

  He dove on top of the young girl, using his body to shield her. "Don't worry; I won't let him hurt you." He could feel her shaking, she was sobbing.

  JoJo
glanced over the counter and saw CK, holding a knife in his right hand, running toward Divothead.

  Divothead brought the shotgun around and fired chest high into CK. The force knocked CK into the display case, bounced his body back, and he fell face down.

  Once again, the all too familiar pink spray misted the air, the smell of gunpowder and blood filled the room. CK's body continued to twitch and squirm. The final dance with death.

  "Get the money, JoJo."

  While quick to surmise the robbery was a setup, he failed to draw the logical conclusion that there was in fact, no money.

  Never had been, never would be.

  JoJo came around from covering the young girl and looked at the two bodies. The owner's head was missing a significant portion of its original form. CK was squirming and twitching. JoJo knew death throes when he saw them. He had seen these many times. Still, he was in shock.

  Divothead came up to the front of the store, saw the young girl cowering on the floor, and he raised the shotgun...

  "What the hell are you doing? Let's go, man!"

  "Yo, bitch is a witness; she'll talk to the cops."

  "Man, no way, you can't do this."

  Divothead aimed the shotgun, JoJo moved in front of him, grabbed the weapon, easily removing it from Ventraglia's hands, swung the butt stock, connecting solidly with the side of his partner's head.

  Divothead went down to his knees, clutching his head, looking at his hands, in shock, trying to understand the blood... looking up at JoJo, "What the fuck, motherfucker, I'll fucking do you too," lunging for the shotgun.

  JoJo kicked out with his right foot and put Divothead down and out.

  Taking the weapon, he walked over to the girl, bent down to her. She was shaking uncontrollably.

  "Run."

  She did.

  JoJo took the shotgun, went out the front door, as he passed the dumpster, he lifted the cover, pushing the shotgun down under the trash.

  Then he ran.

  Chapter 13: March 15, 2006, 4:50PM

  Interrupting the quiet of the day, three alert tones came over the radio followed by the voice of the dispatcher,

  "301, 303, 3S1. Report of shots fired, Kent Farm, Gemini Drive, Black male armed with a rifle, multiple victims, respond Code 3.″

  "Three Lincoln One, ″ the voice of Lieutenant Charley Ackerly came over the radio using the call sign for the shift commander.

  "Three Lincoln One stand by," dispatch replied, "further info on shooter, last seen...”

  The radio became a mess of unintelligible noises as several cars all tried calling at once. Then, momentary silence.

  "Three Lincoln One to dispatch you stand by, I am on Gemini now and there is nothing here, nothing, got it, tell those damn cars to slow down, do you still have the caller on the line?"

  "All units, from Three Lincoln One, slow down, nothing showing on Gemini. Caller hung up, Lieutenant. No other calls."

  "Three Lincoln One, have two units, and only two units respond here and look around. Pull the 911 recording I'll be in the station in five minutes."

  Ackerly made one more loop through the parking lots just in case. One of the marked units arrived and Ackerly pulled up alongside him.

  More alert tones.

  "302, 307, 3S1, Three Lincoln One ″ the dispatcher, one of the good ones, was rattled, "Armed Robbery, shots fired, Cumberland Farms, Taunton Ave at City Hall, witness says two people shot in the head, suspect on foot, east toward Broadway, light-skinned black male, 6 foot, blue-hooded sweatshirt, witness says suspect armed with sawed-off shotgun."

  The dispatcher paused a moment, then added, "Three Lincoln One, we are getting multiple calls on this one, suspect running toward Six Corners."

  Every cop now knew the first call was bullshit; this was the real one, the other a pathetic ruse.

  Chapter 14: Fate in Motion

  “Now we get to do some real work, Cheeks, and we are right there." Josh jumped on the accelerator and the car stalled. "Fucking moron city mechanics, can't they even tune a car properly?" Josh restarted the car, headed onto Grosvenor Avenue, and there he was. Josh threw the car into park and was out the door.

  The guy in the hoodie saw the unmarked car for what it was and ran. It was clear he was holding something under the sweatshirt. Josh yelled into the radio for cars to move onto Grosvenor to cut him off. As he did this, he remembered all those times he told people, Don't yell into the radio, it makes it unreadable. Yet he continued to yell locations. Adrenaline is a compelling chemical.

  The suspect seemed injured; there was a strangeness to his movements, a stiffness in one leg, and an awkward running motion.

  Josh thought, Maybe he has the shotgun down his pants?

  Nevertheless, he was still quick. They ran from John Street onto Grove Street into the parking lot. As they neared Saint Domenicks, he heard a radio broadcast of a suspect in custody. Strange how that could be since Josh was gaining on the guy and still had him in sight.

  Maybe there was a second suspect? No time to think about it, his guy was right there in front of him and Josh was gaining ground.

  Chapter 15: March 15, 2006, 5:00PM

  As the girl ran out, she was on her cell phone calling 911, hysterical...

  The dispatcher at EPPD Communications center was not having a good day.

  Divothead staggered to his feet, moved unsteadily to the front door. He heard the sirens and knew he needed to get out of there. Moving to his car, he jumped in, started it, and tried to drive inconspicuously out the back lot. As he approached the road, a young, white, female, soon to be ex-employee of the store, appeared in front of him.

  He reacted badly.

  Instead of stopping, he jerked the wheel to the right and hit the gas pedal. While Divothead was not conscientious about vehicle maintenance, even a poorly maintained Camaro can go fast.

  The car jumped the parking barrier, bouncing violently, and forcing Divothead's foot even harder onto the accelerator. The car shot across the road, T-boned a telephone pole, adding more damage to Divothead's injuries and quickly terminating his escape.

  Chapter 16: March 15, 2006, 5:05PM

  The first car on the scene was Officer Donald "Straphanger" Jones. Born in New York City, he bragged that growing up in the Big Apple made him immune to violent scenes and bloodshed. He bragged nothing would bother him and, in the ways of working in a small city police department, so far managed to avoid direct contact with anything approaching what he was about to encounter.

  Entering the front of the store, he came around the cashier's counter, saw chunks of skull, brain matter, blood, and proceeded to distribute his morning breakfast all over his uniform, the floor, and the freshly delivered bread in the display.

  Two more officers arrived and made their way through the store, looking for suspects, and trying to avoid being hit by Straphanger's breakfast shrapnel.

  Deciding no living persons, other than cops, occupied the store, they radioed the information to dispatch.

  Dispatch responded that the female caller, still on the line, was behind the building and the suspect was involved in a crash.

  The officers ran outside. Straphanger was not sure if yesterday's dinner was going to join in abandoning ship, so he decided to secure the crime scene from outside the front door.

  As the other two officers came around the building they saw a smoking Chevy Camaro against the telephone pole, a male lying in the street, and an hysterical young girl, screaming into a cell phone, kicking the male in the head.

  Running up to the girl, they pulled her away from the now whimpering male. "Hold on sweetheart, what the hell are you doing?" asked Sergeant David Harriman.

  "He was going to shoot me, that guy had a rifle and was going to shoot me but the other guy stopped him," sobbing, trying to get the words out between deep breaths.

  Sergeant Harriman looked at Officer Wiley, who was searching Divothead for weapons. They both started scanning the area, weapons drawn. "What o
ther guy?"

  "The black guy, he told me to run, he helped me, he saved my life," she continued sobbing and sat on the curb.

  Harriman radioed for a rescue and told dispatch they had a white male suspect in custody.

  Dispatch broadcast additional information that a witness saw a black male enter the store with something covering his face, when he came out he was carrying what appeared to be a rifle.

  Questioning the girl, Harriman tried to get a handle on what went on.

  "Okay, sweetheart, listen to me, I need you to calm down and tell me what happened, nobody can hurt you now, just tell me what happened. How many were there?"

  "One, or two, I don't know I'm not sure," she replied, "but the black guy helped me, and he stopped the guy that shot Mr. Subedar and CK, from shooting me."

  "Tell me what you remember from the beginning." Harriman said, putting his arm around her to calm her down.

  "Okay,” taking a deep breath, “I was standing behind the counter looking out the front window; I saw a black guy in a blue hoddie sweatshirt walk to the end of the parking lot and stand there."

  "What was he looking at?" Harriman asked

  "He kept looking up Taunton Avenue then back at the store, like he was waiting for something to happen. I think he saw me looking out and he walked toward the store. That's when the door opened and the white guy came in. He was carrying a rifle and wore a blue thing on his face. He yelled something and that's when I heard Mr. Subedar yell 'Fuck you asshole' and heard the shot."

  The girl looked over at Ventraglia again and tried to kick him, Harriman grabbed her and said, "Okay sweetheart, I think you've made your point to his head, he ain't gonna be feeling too well for a long time."

  "What did the black guy look like?"

  "He was taller than me, I don't know, I was trying to hide."

  "So you think there were two guys involved? This guy here," indicating the still moaning Divothead, "and the black guy?"